Project Rainbow stakes record 1,701 trans pride flags ahead of Transgender Awareness Week
Project Rainbow Utah distributed a record 1,701 transgender pride flags to Utah homes this month, up from 1,558 last year. The nonprofit announced the total ahead of Transgender Awareness Week, which begins Friday.
More than 100 volunteers took part on Nov. 8. They assembled at the organization’s “flag headquarters,” then drove pre-planned delivery routes and staked the flags in front yards.
The group said the work took “dozens of mallets and hammers,” two boxes of tacos and a couple of dogs. In a social media post, the group described its purpose as “queer community that centers our joy.”
“You go down a neighborhood, and you see flags lined up. That means a lot to people who are experiencing some of the most marginalization in our country currently,” Fanetupoupaluvava’u Harris, Project Rainbow’s operations coordinator, told Fox 13.
Five years of growth
The campaign has grown each year, according to Project Rainbow’s figures:
This year’s total is about 9% above 2025’s and more than three times the 2022 figure.
Harris said donations were also at a record. “Donors were at an all-time high for us this year, and I think that in regard to how we’ve been targeted a lot this year, there’s just a lot of people who want to do better despite it,” he said.
The campaign comes after Utah lawmakers passed several laws affecting transgender residents in recent years, including restroom mandates and limits on gender-affirming health care for minors. Last year, the state banned the transgender flag on government and public school property.
Leaders say that the community feels hopeful, though, after transgender and nonbinary candidates won midterm races in states including Georgia, Michigan and Alabama.
Volunteer Ruth Silveira has helped with the campaign for years with her family. She said she hopes visibility will change minds.
“I’m hoping that they will pay attention and they’ll see that trans people are just like any other people,” she said. “I think it’s a learning process. I think people should be willing to open up their mind and their hearts.”
Flag subscriptions and donations support Project Rainbow’s Community Fund Grants. The organization said the fund has distributed over $450,000 to LGBTQ events and programs in Utah since 2018, including this year’s $67,200 to more than 20 grantees.
Projects it supported include:
- A Great Salt Lake-themed drag show
- Inclusive underwear-making workshops
- Ogden Pride
- Pride of Southern Utah
- Diné Pride at Window Rock
- Lavender Graduation
- The Trans Day of Visibility Community Celebration
Flag raising Friday
A flag raising will be held at Salt Lake City Hall at 9:30 a.m. Friday to mark the beginning of Transgender Awareness Week. The event will raise Salt Lake City’s official Sego Visibility Flag. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Council Member Chris Wharton are scheduled to speak. Fanetupoupaluvava’u Harris will give an address, followed by a song.
Project Rainbow said it needs continued support to fund more grants in 2027. Volunteer and donation information is at projectrainbowutah.org.
